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  • James Endres Howelljameshowell@fediscience.org
    Jun 24, 2026, 11:46 PM

    Hey, everyone. I want to spend the next few weeks learning @guix and installing it as a replacement for Debian. The learning curve looks daunting. Where do I start?

    I want to do it on real hardware and I have a spare laptop. Sadly @daviwil's nice tutorials appear outdated...?

    What I have: an ambition for software freedom and a love of Lisp. What I need: an understanding of the packaging model and (sadly) support for non-free hardware.

    Point me to a recent .iso? Point me to a good explainer for noobs? Thanks!

    #askfedi #Guix

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Replies

  • futurilefuturile@mastodon.social
    Jun 25, 2026, 7:14 AM

    @jameshowell @guix @daviwil Nice! Keep us updated as you make the journey!

    Hopefully, a mixture of the manual and some of the community blog posts will be enough to get Guix System running.

    I actually started by installing Guix on top of Ubuntu as that let me learn about it in an environment I knew well. As another option!

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  • Ankitankit@argp.org
    Jun 26, 2026, 4:51 AM

    @jameshowell @guix @daviwil
    I’m going through the same process for about a month now.

    I’m taking a different approach. Instead of outright replacing Debian, I started defining my Guix Home configuration first on Debian base. This is easier to experiment while still using a stable Debian base. I was able to move to Guix foreign install on both my work and home machines within the first week itself.

    The Guix Info manuals are very useful.

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  • Guillaume GaullierGuillawme@fediscience.org
    Jun 26, 2026, 12:08 PM

    @jameshowell @guix @daviwil I recommend an intermediate step: use guix as a package manager on top of Debian for a bit. This way you get to familiarize yourself with its logic while still having a usable system, and when you feel ready you can install the distro (you can even use the package manager to generate an installation iso with a custom configuration).

    Alternatively, install the distro on a spare computer if you have one, so you can test all you want, make mistakes, etc. without causing downtime to your main computer.

    Good luck, and enjoy! I found Guix super fun to explore and look forward to using it more when I have more free time.

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